Six Mile, South Carolina - The International Institute of Golf would like to congratulate Arjun Atwal in his most recent performance at the Wyndham Championship.

Atwal become the first Indian-born player to win on TOUR and the first player to win from a Monday qualifier since 1986.  “I told my caddie that we had nothing to lose this week.  Just go out there and try to win it,” Atwal stated.

Atwal’s one shot victory (-20) over David Toms will allow him to play in next years Masters as well as other various PGA TOUR events.  “I don’t have a card, I don’t have anything.  Just go out there and free-wheel it, and that’s what I did this week,” the Indian-born player added.

This most recent win has now put BannLynch Golf at three wins for the season, with Geoff Ogilvy and Stuart Appleby winning earlier this year.

They say you can’t win the U.S Open in one round but you can certainly lose it. On day 2 of the 2010 U.S Open Champion, South Korea’s K.J Choi made sure he avoided the latter by putting together a workmanlike round of 2 over par 73.

Choi enters the weekend at +1 tied for 10th place and just 4 shots behind leader Graeme McDowell from Northern Ireland. He mixed 2 birdies with 2 bogeys and a double bogey in his round, but all in all can’t be too displeased with his position going into Friday’s 3rd round. As many players have said this week, any score around par in a U.S Open is usually going to put you in contention come Sunday.

Meanwhile, Australia’s Stuart Appleby made the cut right on the number at +7. He was comfortably within the cut line at +5 through 15 holes of his second round before bogeying 16 and 17. Coming down the last needing a par to make the weekend, Appleby knocked his third shot into the bunker. His heart rate would have risen even higher after he left his bunker shot 5 meters from the hole. The Aussie managed to find the cup and avoid what would have been a pretty gut wrenching missed cut, especially considering his recent struggles. He goes into Saturday’s 3rd round tied for 73rd position.

It has been a tough tournament for the Bann Lynch Golf stable so far, with Choi and Appleby the only 2 to make the cut out of the 8 that started the tournament. Scores for the other 6 were:

Geoff Ogilvy +8, Arjun Atwal +8, Marc Leishman +9, Steve Allan +10, Paul Sheehan +11, Aaron Baddeley +15.

Thanks to Yarra Bend Golf for this article.

A bogey-double bogey start wasn’t exactly part of K.J Choi’s game plan for the 1st round of the 2010 U.S Open being played at Pebble Beach. However, this is the U.S Open. It is as much a test of one’s patience in the face of adversity as it is a test of golfing skills.

Choi showed he had plenty to offer in both departments as he followed up his horror start with a run of 6 birdies in the next 12 holes to get to 3 under par for the day and at one point hold the outright lead. He was the hottest player on the golf course by far. However, the course fought back. 2 bogeys over his last 4 holes meant that after an up and down day, Choi finished at 1 under par 70 and tied 4th, 1 shot behind the 1st round lead set by Shaun Micheel, Paul Casey and Brendon de Jonge.

Still, on a day when some of the best players in the world struggled to get anywhere near par, Choi was very happy to finish under par in the 1st round of a U.S Open, which usually means you are in the mix.

Here is his interview after the round (courtesy of pgatour.com):

Choi, coached by Bann Lynch Golf coach Steve Bann, clearly understands that focusing on the mental and strategic aspects of his game is as important as thinking about his golf swing:

“This course it looks like is wide open fairway, but in the teeing ground, hitting before in the mindset, in the right, in the left, either way is very tough in the bunker and tough in the rough,” he said. “And it can’t stop in the bouncing, so very scared on the tee shot.”

It was a day of mixed results for the other 7 players from the Bann Lynch Golf stable competing at Pebble Beach this week. Starting on the 10th tee, Stuart Appleby (also coached by Steve Bann) recovered from a poor start much like Choi to make the turn at even par after 3 straight birdies, but gave back 2 shots on his back 9 to finish at a very respectable 2 over par 73 which left him tied for 30th position.

Former champion Geoff Ogilvy had a disappointing start to his U.S Open campaign with a 8 over par 79 that left him tied for 135th. Ogilvy had 8 bogeys and a double bogey in his round along with 2 birdies and will need to do something special on Friday to make it to the weekend, let alone be a factor on Sunday.

Other scores for Bann Lynch Golf coached players in the field:

Arjun Atwal +4 (T67), Marc Leishman +6 (T106), Steve Allan +7 (T119), Aaron Baddeley +9 (T142), Paul Sheehan +9 (T142).

Thank you to Yarra Bend Golf for this article.

6 players coached by Bann Lynch Golf coaches competed at The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio which concluded on Sunday.

It was a case of what might have been for Australia’s Geoff Ogilvy who shared the lead after the 1st round thanks to a blistering 7 under par 65 which could have been even better if not for a missed 2 footer on the par 3 8th hole. Unfortunately for Ogilvy, a 77 in the second round put paid to his chances for the week.

He got back on track with a 3 under par 69 but a 4 over par 76 on Sunday meant he could only finish T41 for the week at -1, well behind England’s Justin Rose who shot a final round 66 to capture his first PGA Tour title. Still, Ogilvy is sure to take plenty of positives from his first round in which he matched his superb ball striking with deft touch on the fast greens, needing just 26 putts despite the 3 putt on hole #8. The former US Open Champion is showing some good signs heading into Pebble Beach.

Fellow Aussie Aaron Baddeley finished T47 at even par while South Korea’s KJ Choi, a former winner here, finished T52.

Thanks to Pure Golf Blog for this post.

Australia’s Geoff Ogilvy has made a great start to his campaign at The Memorial Tournament on the US PGA Tour, firing a blistering 7 under par 65 to be tied for the lead after the 1st round.

The Bann Lynch Golf/Yarra Bend Golf team member made 8 birdies in his round against the lone bogey to share the lead with England’s Justin Rose and American Ricky Fowler.

Ogilvy seems to have carried into this week the positive momentum from his final round at last week’s Crowne Plaza Invitational where he shot a 6 under par 64 in the final round to vault up the leader board and finish T13. His putting was the key stat, as he needed just 26 putts in his round (T8 in that category).

With the US Open at Pebble Beach approaching, the return to form bodes well for former champion Ogilvy who has had a bit of a quiet season since his win at the opening event in Hawaii. At The Memorial however, Ogilvy is once again displaying his knack for playing well in tournaments with strong fields (the field includes Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and some of the top ranked players in the world).

“I’m happy the way I’m hitting the ball.” said Ogilvy. “I hit the ball great last week. I hit the ball great really since Augusta. And I feel like it’s been on the improve. So that’s nice.”

KJ Choi was the best of the other Bann Lynch Golf players, shooting a 3 under par 69 to be tied for 16th place. Having finished 4th at this year’s Masters, Choi is looking to peak at the right time once again for the US Open at Pebble Beach and get that first major.

Scores for other Bann Lynch Golf/Yarra Bend Golf players: Aaron Baddeley -1 (T34), Stuart Appleby +1 (T67), Mat Goggin +1 (T67), Marc Leishman +4 (T109).

Bann Lynch Golf players K.J Choi of South Korea and Geoff Ogilvy of Australia can both take plenty of positives from their respective performances in the US PGA Tour’s Crowne Plaza Invitational which concluded today at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

Choi and Ogilvy both finished in a tie for 13th along with 7 other players at 12 under par, 9 shots behind winner Zach Johnson of the United States.

Choi and Ogilvy are coached by International Institute of Golf co-Directors Steve Bann and Dale Lynch respectively.

Yarra Bend Golf team member Ogilvy followed rounds of 70, 67 and 67 with a blistering final round 64 on the par 70 layout to vault up the leader board. He made 6 birdies against no bogeys and this performance will surely give the 2006 US Open Champion plenty of confidence with the 2010 event just a few weeks away.

While Ogilvy shot a stellar final round, Choi can probably lay claim to the strangest round of the week- his 66 on Saturday is probably one round of golf he won’t forget for a while. The South Korean birdied 3 of his first 4 holes, then recovered from a bogey on the 5th with a stunning eagle on the par 4 6th. He parred into the turn to score 4 under par 31 for the front 9. K.J then caught fire again birdieing 4 of the next 5 holes to get it to 8 under for the round. After parring 15 through 17, Choi teed off on the 18th hole tied for the lead with Bryce Molder at 14 under par and needing a birdie to match the course record.

That’s when it all went wrong.

After hitting his tee shot into the left rough, KJ couldn’t get it out on his first attempt, and then compounded his problems by hitting the next one into the water next to the green. After dropping, it took him 3 attempts with the wedge to get it onto the green and he had to make an 8 footer for a quadruple bogey 8 that left him with a 4 under par 66 which while impressive could have been so much better.

Still, both Ogilvy and Choi have shown some very encouraging signs this week that their games are peaking at the right time for the second major of the year. The US Open will be played at Pebble Beach Golf Links from June 17-20.

Thanks to Yarra Bend Golf for this article.

Six Mile, S.C. (January 11,2010) — The International Institute of Golf (IIG) would like to congratulate Geoff Ogilvy on his second straight victory at the SBS Championship at Kapalua Resort in Maui, Hawaii.

Ogilvy posted four rounds in the sixties to finish at 22 under par, good for a one stroke victory.  This victory moved Geoff to 9th in the Official World Golf Rankings and marked his seventh PGA Tour victory including wins at the 2006 U.S. Open and the 2006, 2008 and 2009 WGC Accenture World Match Play. 

Winning the SBS Championship back-to-back is nothing new to IIG students.  Stuart Appleby is a three-time winner of this event 2004, 2005 and 2006, marking the only time it has been won in three consecutive years.  With Ogilvy winning this event the past two years it marks multiple victories for both Steve Bann and Dale Lynch as instructors at this event.  Ogilvy has been under the watchful eye of Lynch since he entered the golf program at the Victorian Institute of Sport at the age of sixteen which Lynch co directed with Bann.  

“Geoff’s game is primed for the 2010 season and he will not rest on this victory.  He has his sights set on becoming a better player,” said Dale Lynch.  “We focus on all aspects of his game – physical, mental, technical and strategic,” said Lynch. “Of all the things that stood out in Geoff’s game at Kapalua, his wedge play and putting showed the effort he has put into his off season practice.  Many players come to Maui to shake off the rust; he came with his game in shape to start the year off strongly.  I look forward to seeing what he will accomplish in 2010.” 

About the International Institute of Golf (IIG)
Located at the Cliffs at Keowee Springs, the IIG accompanies a Tom Fazio-designed golf course and community.  Headed up by Steve Bann and Dale Lynch, the IIG offers varying levels of instruction, group lessons and corporate outings.  In his commitment to make the IIG the premier instructional facility in the world, Lynch relocated to the Greenville, S.C. with his family. Bann will commute across the continents at the outset, splitting his time between the IIG at Keowee Springs and Melbourne training facility.  Both instructors spend time traveling with their professional clients including Geoff Ogilvy, Stuart Appleby, Mathew Goggin, K.J. Choi, Arjun Atwal, Roger Tambellini, Nick Flanagan, and Steve Allan.  

The IIG includes a state of the art 80-yard short-game area with varying rough heights, run-offs and green shapes and speeds will help golfers learn different ways to save strokes; a teaching center featuring NIKE 360® Fitting System; a state of the art Swing Catalyst motion analysis studio; and an indoor putting studio with the TOMI system and a fitness training area. 

The Cliffs at Keowee Springs is one of eight private master-planned residential developments within The Cliffs Communities, founded in 1989 by Jim Anthony and located in the heart of the Carolina Preserve stretching from Greenville, S.C., to Asheville, N.C. To learn more about the IIG, call (864) 868-0477 or visit www.iofgolf.com ? 

About The Cliffs Communities
Founded in 1989 by Jim Anthony, The Cliffs Communities offers a unique collection of eight communities within three distinct regions of The Carolina Preserve — Asheville, Mountain-lake and Mountain— while providing immediate enjoyment of all with only one membership. All communities are just minutes from each other. All are surrounded by hundreds of thousands of acres of protected parklands at the southernmost edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains. And all provide access to two of the South’s most vibrant towns: Greenville, South Carolina, and Asheville, North Carolina. When you are a member of one Cliffs community, you are a Member of all eight. The Cliffs offers home sites from $200,000 to more than $3 million and custom homes from $700,000 to $5 million. To learn more about living at The Cliffs, call (877) 254-3371 or visit www.cliffscommunities.com. 

Contacts:
Barrett Wood      
(864) 868-0477 IIG      
(404) 543-3400 cell    
bwood@cliffscommunities.com